‘I want to listen to the quiet voices’ through Women’s March Rockford

Kristen Zambo Staff writer @kristenzambo

Sunday

Jan 13, 2019 at 7:34 PMJan 14, 2019 at 8:23 AM

ROCKFORD — Organizers of this year’s Women’s March Rockford say the shadows cast over the nationwide march in the wake of allegations of anti-Semitism in the national organization won’t keep them from fighting for equal rights here.

Various women’s marches across the country have been canceled recently amid a division in the national Women’s March organization. The founder has called for four of the co-chairs — Tamika Mallory, Bob Bland, Linda Sarsour and Carmen Perez — to step down because of ties with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and allegations of anti-Semitism. During an event last year in Chicago, Farrakhan reportedly made comments about “powerful Jews” being his enemies.

But Rockford “has always been different,” said Alicia Neubauer, co-owner of Ground Floor Skateboards in Rockford and one of the Rockford march’s organizers. The infighting that’s occurred among members of the national leadership team hasn’t occurred in Rockford.

“I think we will march for different reasons but at the core … we are united in our belief that every human being has a right to be treated with dignity and respect,” she said. “We will work to ensure our laws and behavior reflect these values.”

One of Rockford’s march organizers, Mary McNamara Bernsten, 43, of Rockford, said Mallory, Bland, Sarsour and Perez didn’t denounce “the hate speech of Farrakhan,” contributing to the rift in the national organization. Rockford march organizers say they won’t stand for discrimination and disrespect.

“Until our leadership reflects the society in which we live, that’s why we’re marching,” said McNamara Bernsten, an art instructor at Keith Country Day School. “I do consider women the equalizers in society. We invite. We empower. And we support.”

Rockford’s march, the third annual event, is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19. The march is meant to promote peace, equality and empowerment and organizers encourage women and men to march for a myriad of reasons. The march will begin at Rockford City Market, 124 N. Water St., and conclude at Davis Park, 320 S. Wyman St.

Nationwide, concerns also have been voiced that the turnout for these community marches largely would be comprised of white women and men. But McNamara Bernsten said this year’s Rockford march is expected to be the most diverse, drawing residents who are Jewish, black, Hispanic, biracial and transgender.

Neubauer said black women remain under-represented and she encouraged them not only to march, but help plan the event “and join our grassroots collective.”

“In this march, I feel I want to listen to the quiet voices,” Neubauer said.

Another organizer, Sarene Alsharif, 36, of Caledonia, said many members of the Muslim community are quiet and shy, culturally, and that can lead to under-representation in the community and at events like the Women’s March.

“For the Muslim community, there’s a lot of baggage. You have to remember where they come from,” said Alsharif, whose father is from Syria and whose mother is from Maryland. “They came from these different repressive regimes. They’re been tortured and told all their lives not to say anything against the government. When they see an oppressive leader making all these hateful comments (in the U.S) … they’re scared.”

Alsharif, a dietician and co-owner of Tad More Tailoring, said she’s marching partly in protest of President Donald Trump’s stance on immigration, saying “that’s what we’re about as Americans. We’re here to help people who are oppressed live a better life. Unless we’re Native Americans, we’re all new.”

The Chicago march has been canceled, which Rockford march organizers say they feel will attract more marchers here. Alsharif said the Chicago march was canceled “because they ran out of money,” not because of the anti-Semitic comments.

An estimated 1,500 people attended last year’s Rockford march, up slightly from the more than 1,000 people who attended the inaugural march in 2017.

“I think we’ll get some suburbanites,” said McNamara Bernsten, adding her sister-in-law lives in St. Charles and plans to attend Rockford’s march with a suburban group.

Kristen Zambo: 815-987-1339; kzambo@rrstar.com; @KristenZambo

About the march

Rockford’s march, the third annual event, is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19. The march will begin at Rockford City Market, 124 N. Water St., and conclude at Davis Park, 320 S. Wyman St. Confirmed speakers include Dorothy Paige-Turner; Rhonda Greer, president of the NAACP Rockford chapter; Linda Zuba, Rockford lawyer and immigration activist; Jennifer Cacciapaglia, manager of the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Abuse and Human Trafficking Prevention; Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline; and Sara Dorner, labor representative, AFSCME Council 31, vice president of Rockford United Labor.

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